Silence

Title
Silence
Creator
Year/Period
1983
Region
Malaysia
Dimension
Image size: 56 x 30.5 cm,
Frame size: 82.9 x 57.4 x 2.6 cm
Accession No.
2001-03373
Credit Line
Gift of Carolyn Wong on behalf of the Huang Yao Foundation. Collection of National Gallery Singapore.

Born to a literati family in Shanghai, China, Huang Yao (1914-1987) received his formative education from his father in classical literati traditions and calligraphy, particularly in the archaic scripts of oracle bone and bronze inscription. In the 1930s, he gained recognition as a talented cartoonist for creating the comic character “Niu Bi Zi” which was widely used as an educational resource in schools. Huang travelled to Southeast Asia after the end of World War II in 1945, and resided in different countries before settling permanently in Malaysia in 1956. He worked primarily as an art educator until his retirement in 1973. A prolific artist, he had held 23 solo and group exhibitions and six retrospective exhibitions.A rare stylized work, the form of the hunched man silently echoes the tall and distant mountain peaks in the background. On the top left is the Chinese character “mo” for silence.